Group And Individual

Group assessments are harder than normal assessments because itâs no longer âyourâ (singular) work, itâs âyourâ (plural) work. Most of the time, teachers will have TWO marking systems: 1) Group and Individual Mark or 2) Whole Group Mark. In the past, Iâve always preferred the first system. My line of thought was, âWell, thatâs good because so-and-so has not done a thing! And such-and-such hasnât even been here!â My train of thought is exactly why most teachers prefer the first system too. But what happens when they decide to use the second system?

The âWhole Group Markâ Marking System

Each teacher will have their own criteria, but Iâm going off what I do know and remember. Traces of the âindividualâ mark will influence your groupâs final mark and it usually comes from what is called the âPeer Evaluation Sheetâ. Sure, you might have a say on your final group mark, but at least you get to voice your observations of your group. Now Iâm not saying that this is one of those things where you give your group-mate/s you donât like or you think are lazy a really low mark, but you note down âtruthfully â what each member has contributed. The next thing is called the âSelf-Evaluation Sheetâ where you get a say on how well you think youâve contributed to the group. Just like the previous sheet, itâs not about making yourself look good, itâs about really looking at how well youâve worked on the project. As a whole, you have to remember that youâre not being marked on your own, this is a group effort and you need all the help you can get. If someone is not pulling their weight the entire group suffers. Generally speaking, you canât assume someone will always pick-up your slack.

Tips on Working as a Team

1. Put personal disputes ASIDE: I find that working with people you donât want to work with always ruins group assignments. So if youâre put in a group you donât want to be in, suck it up and do the work youâve been given. Remember, this task is not about you.

2. Always be sure to have ROLES: Most teachers will tell you to allocate roles to each person in a group anyway, but if they donât, make sure everyone is doing something. Write down whoâs in charge of a particular section and what they have to do â always have someone who knows what everyone is doing, that way no one can lose tract on what they have to do.

3. Keep each other ACCOUNTABLE: This mean always having each otherâs back. This is why I started with putting disputes aside. You have to be sure youâre willing to remind one another about what needs to be done â remember itâs not your own work, itâs everyoneâs work.

4. Do the project TOGETHER: Most people think that collaboration part of the project can be done by one person. Youâll find, itâs easier and better to do the collaboration together â that way everyone gets a say and everyone gets to see what everyone else has done. The more things you do together the better youâll work together and the better youâre mark will be. So talk together; organise going to each otherâs houses; actually buy things for the project together; donât be afraid to have fun together.

5. Be CONCIDERATE: Always think about others. If you donât show up, let another person in your group know why. If another person doesnât do their part, talk to them about it â encourage them to put the effort in. If they still arenât doing anything, then tell your teacher. But always think about other people first.

Working in a group it not tedious, I find that it can be a lot of fun. Working in a group also means you have a shared workload, meaning everyone should put in 100% to get 100%. Believe me, getting marked as a group instead of individuals in a and as a group can be harder, but it just pushes you to work harder together and really drives you to work well together.